A group of British lawmakers urged England to boycott their Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan next month, saying the country's cricket board (ECB) needed to take a stand against the Taliban's crackdown on women.

Downing Street has called on the International Cricket Council to “deliver on their own rules” as the England team resists pressure to boycott their forthcoming match against Afghanistan. A cross-party group of over 160 MPs and peers have signed a letter urging the England and Wales Cricket Board to sit out next month’s fixture at the Champions Trophy in Lahore as a moral objection to the Taliban regime’s ongoing assault on women’s rights in the country.

The UK government says the International Cricket Council should "deliver on their own rules" relating to women's participation as the England men's team resist calls to boycott their upcoming match against Afghanistan.

England’s cricket authorities have rejected calls to boycott an upcoming match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy over the Taliban’s oppression of women and girls. Richard Gould, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB),